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What It Was Like to Be a Roman Soldier
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Jul 8, 2025
Over centuries, the Roman Empire conquered almost the entirety of Europe, giving generation after generation the chance to spill blood on the Roman battlefield. From the cold marshes of Britannia to the burning deserts of Carthage, the infamous Roman army invaded, conquered, and occupied massive tracts of land. As a civilization, Rome remains an impressive chapter in the history books. This is a glimpse into Roman Soldier's reality.
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Over centuries, the Roman Empire conquered almost the entirety of Europe, giving generation
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after generation the chance to spill blood on the Roman battlefield. From the cold marshes of Britannia to the burning deserts of Carthage, the infamous Roman
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army invaded, conquered, and occupied massive tracts of land. But what was ancient Roman warfare like for the men on the ground, though
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Today, we're going to take a look at what it was like to be a soldier in the Roman army
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Job security is a big deal in modern society, and it was in the ancient world as well
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If you join the Roman army, for better or for worse, you are likely in it for the long haul
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The typical Roman soldier served for a whopping 25 years, often running from the time they were 18 until they had reached their mid-40s
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Of course, many soldiers didn't survive that long, but those who did typically found themselves set for life
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The emperor granted all retired soldiers land of their own and a lifetime pension
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In times of peace, this was downright lucrative, but the retirement benefits were so good that
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even during war, many men didn't hesitate to sign up. Despite all the blood and brutality, the average Roman soldier lived a better life than most
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in the empire, which really says a lot about what life in ancient Rome was like for your
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average Joe. Many civilian jobs were unstable, with pay rates negotiated for every single gig
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As a soldier, however, you could always rely on steady pay, and you often had easy access to facilities civilians struggled to have access to
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Bakeries, hospitals, and baths were a part of most barracks, and even broke soldiers could use them for free
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And let's not overlook that the land a soldier earned after retirement was incredibly attractive
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because Romans were often living cramped lifestyles in the city. So, we've established that being a Roman soldier, even in times of war, could have some pretty huge upsides
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But as you probably guessed, the profession came with a lot of risks, too
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And not just in battle. Soldiers judged disobedient, cowardly, or grievously incompetent by their commanders
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often faced extremely strict and sometimes highly cruel forms of punishment. Write out, I shall not run away from Spartacus
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100 times. Centurions who led the legions carried canes used to strike soldiers to enforce their
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will or tighten up a sloppy march. Small mistakes like that could lead to beatings or even prison
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time One particular centurion named Lucilius was known as another here because he beat his soldiers so severely he often needed multiple canes for a single punishment If you wondering why the soldiers would stand
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for such shabby treatment, it's probably worth noting they didn't always. Lucilius was offed during the Pannonian mutiny
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Larger mistakes resulted in even more severe punishment, up to and including execution
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One particularly grisly punishment, decimation, meant that 10% of your unit was simply and somewhat arbitrarily killed. Most infamously
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General Marcus Licinius Clausus ordered 500 soldiers decimated for cowardice in the Gladiator
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Wars. Every group of 10 drew lots, and the unlucky soul who got the short straw was bludgeoned by
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their nine close comrades. If you want to get a sense of what that must have been like, the Star
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series Spartacus, War of the Damned, dramatized this use of decimation in the fourth episode of
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their third season. Title appropriately enough, Decimation. One thing the movies got right is
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that Roman legionaries tended to arm themselves to the teeth with heavy battle equipment. Every
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soldier wore iron armor and a metal helmet, typically fashioned from either iron or bronze
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over a wool tunic. Their scutum shields added the most weight, but it was worth it because they were
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pretty versatile, providing both protection and an iron knob for bashing the enemy. The pilum
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which was a large spear designed to be tossed before the start of close combat
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was the Roman soldier's first weapon. It was made of a soft metal that bent on impact
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so it couldn't be reused by the Roman's opponents. If forced into a tight situation
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their gladius swords proved excellent stabbing weapons. Legionaries, however, almost never carried ranged weapons, as those were reserved primarily for specialized auxiliaries. Joining
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the army came with a ton of benefits and ultimately could prove to be one's ticket to the good life
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so not surprisingly, lots of people wanted in. Potential recruits endured a battery of medical and athletic tests
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to ensure they were already fit to fight. Basically, they wanted men who didn't need a great deal of physical training
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before they entered the battlefield. Recruits also had to prove they were of Roman birth to be a legionary
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But both legionaries and auxiliaries were required to be freeborn. If an enslaved person was discovered to have enlisted
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those responsible were slain. If you met all the necessary requirements, you were finally allowed to swear an oath of loyalty
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to the emperor and head off to the barracks. Roman generals and tacticians devised formations and strategies that were infamous throughout the world The standard formation was known as the triplex aqueous three lines of warriors arranged like a chessboard spaced out to allow easy throwing of the pilum and free use of the gladius when
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tight enough to repel enemy offensives. The scutum shield was key to many powerful defense formations, such as forming a hollow
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square to repel cavalry or an overhead shell to protect from arrows and spears
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But the success of the Roman forces wasn't all about fighting tactics and superior equipment
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They also used cleverness to their advantage between battles, training some of the first
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messenger pigeons to deliver information from spies and digging hidden trenches in the night
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so the enemy's horses would fall inside. You would think a military force as formidable as
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the Roman army would be on the cutting edge of weapons technology, but that wasn't always the
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case. In fact, the Romans were surprisingly slow to integrate siege weapons into their armies
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They often assembled and devised artillery based on Greek designs and only iterated as necessary
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However, after Julius Caesar's success with siege engines at Elysia, the devices became a powerful
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and well-integrated part of the Roman arsenal. The most famous Roman siege weapon, the ballista
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hurled massive stones and was known as the onager, or the wild ass, for their incredible kickback
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after firing. Smaller ballista designed to fire heavy bolts were known as caro ballista, or
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Scorpio. Being a soldier came with rewards, but not everyone reaped them equally. Those who were
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citizens of the Roman Empire did the best, whereas those who weren't didn't get nearly the same
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benefits from serving. Looks like there's no cake. Next year, eh? You bet me an extra big one
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You see, Roman citizens became full-fledged legionaries, but non-citizens had to become
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mere auxiliaries. These forces weren't as well respected, didn't earn as much pay
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and instead of land and a pension, got a military diploma, granting them and their offspring Roman
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citizenship. Additionally, soldiers from influential families were often promoted faster. Surprise, surprise. And older men typically ordered the younger soldiers to take the most
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dangerous positions on the front lines. Despite the empire's size, the Romans often did not
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integrate well with their new subjects. If a tribe or kingdom they sought to conquer had the
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gall to fight them or force them into a siege, only the women and children would have any hope
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of surviving. Even alliances with foreigners were seen as temporary. When the Celtic king
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Prasutagus died, leaving ally Emperor Nero half his estate, the Romans responded by taking control
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of his kingdom and brutally punishing his rebellious family Romans regarded those dwelling in their empire without Roman citizenship as being of low status and such people were subject to especially gruesome and horrific
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punishments like crucifixion. Crucifixion? Yes. Good. Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each
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While movies and television tend to portray Roman soldiers as battle-hardened warriors
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constantly on the march to their next confrontation. It wasn't usually like that in real life
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On average, Roman soldiers lived a mundane and hardworking existence. Some took up specialties, filling in as doctors, bakers, potters, and blacksmiths when the
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barracks needed them. At one time or another, soldiers were put to work on the infrastructure of the empire
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In peacetime, leaders of the legion often became administrators, overseeing the construction
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of roads, bridges, and aqueducts built by soldiers' hands. And regardless of whether it was time of peace or war, there was always plenty of dirty work that had to be done
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Pass me the sponge and the stick, will you, Marcus? They don't really point this out in the movies either, but the truth is Roman barracks were essentially small cities
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And like any city, they needed daily upkeep and maintenance. Soldiers were put to the dirtiest and most mundane tasks like cleaning boots, replacing old pipes, and scrubbing the walls of the baths
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The worst of these jobs was, naturally, latrine duty. On any given day, a legionary could find himself cleaning feces out of black pipes and emptying full latrine pits
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Speaking of being domestic, history teaches us that a Roman soldier was not allowed to marry
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From the time a soldier's service started until it ended, they were not allowed to take a wife
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Pretty much any activity that was considered a distraction from serving the empire was discouraged
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Of course, this didn't stop soldiers from sneaking off and taking unofficial wives and girlfriends from the nearby towns
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Also not surprisingly, the high-ranking centurions were exempted from the rule and enjoyed the privilege
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of being able to marry while serving. When Septimius Severus took power in 193 CE, however
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this rule was eventually overturned. Much of the Roman army's legendary success
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wouldn't have been possible if Gaius Marius hadn't been elected consul in 107 BCE
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In fact, before his attention turned to the Roman army, it was a loosely assembled group of ragtag volunteers
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who all had other jobs and would have to bring their own weapons. Under the reforms of Marius, however, the army became the now legendary institution
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that could create awe throughout the known world. How did he do it
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Well, among other decrees, Marius allowed citizens without property to enlist, supplied soldiers with arms and armor, and made being a soldier a true career